Reggie ...

 Molly just KNEW!!!  “Now, how do those silly cats ....”.

Oof! “Andrew!”

“Yes, my love.” The angel replied, with a smile, and a rub behind the beautiful golden retriever’s ears”

“Is he coming? Can I greet him? When will he get here?”

“Calm down, sweetie!  He’s already here.  In fact, he’s over on the soft patch of clover where all of your friends have been .... see?”

Molly  turned and looked, and there he was, Reggie! Across the meadow she ran, leaving Maggie behind to investigate Andrew’s marvelous pockets.  She leaned down and nosed him ... He woke up to find himself looking at, of all things, Molly! “Huh? What are you doing here?” he asked.

“Well you’re at Crystal Creek and we, Maggie and I came down for a morning swim. What are YOU doing here?” She asked.

“Um. well I wasn’t feeling very well. My jaw hurt something fierce and it’d bleed, so Mom took me to the vet and I guess I went to sleep and uh, well. Here I am. Which is where exactly?”

“OH! It’s the most Wonderful place! You need to come meet Andrew and Maggie. But first you must have a drink from the creek ...”

Doing as he was told, Reggie was surprised at how cool and refreshing the water tasted. Like nothing he’d ever found in his bowl, or the toilet ..

“Okay, now what?”

“C’mon! Race you!”

Molly took off, her golden tail waving in her wake ... with the handsome Brittany spaniel in hot pursuit. They were both laughing in happy doggy abandon when they came to Andrew and Maggie who were patiently waiting for them. Maggie thought to herself how differently SHE would have greeted him, but Molly was far more “over the top” in anything she did.

“Hello, young man! You must be Reggie!” Andrew withdrew some treats from the legendary pockets of his robe.

Reggie sat as if at attention, as a true gentleman should. Last call at night for Molly would find Reggie sitting ,very dignified at the edge of his property line [electric collar prevented him going walk-about]. She’d go over and nose to nose a bit and both would “go home” for the night. After she went to the Bridge he’d still come to the “fence line” to visit. If Maggie’s Mommy didn’t come talk to him and give him scratches he’d bark, not obnoxiously, but one knew he wanted the visit. Her daughter Martha was the one who gave him the “handsome” designation because of the way he sat. He always looked so dignified.

“I see that you and Molly are old friends!” If a burgundy dog could blush, he did. Shuffling his front paws a bit he looked at Andrew and said “I always said goodnight to my lady.”

“Your time on earth has come to an end, and the people who loved you felt it was best to send you to us.”

“That’s just it. Where is here’?”

“When the earth was new, God provided for all living things, knowing each had a different span of days to live. He knows each of you, as all of you were made by Him. When it is time, you all return to Him, to be with Him forever.

“Here, as you’ve asked, is one of many such arrival spots, all within the reach of Crystal Creek, which flows from the River of Life. In just a few moments, we will take you to the Bridge made of every color of the rainbow. It signifies God’s promise to all he created.”

Molly ever impatient added “And you jump off, and everybody’s already there, and we play with the other angels, and we’re never cold, or hungry or hurting, not Ever!”

To know Molly was to love her, and Andrew did. Mouse had told him much about Molly and Maggie who was her predecessor. She had often commented how totally opposite their personalities were! She remembered the first time she met Molly, when her people had come to visit in their house on wheels. Molly had come in the door of the house barking her head off, leaving Mouse sitting there staring at her as if to say “Who are YOU, and what have you done with Maggie!”

Andrew rose, the dogs at his feet as they walked into the mist ...

... and appeared on the beautiful bridge. Reggie blinked, and blinked again. SO MANY ANIMALS!! Maggie and Molly hopped off to join with the cats, and the other dogs who had come before him. Some of them he knew of, others ... not so much. He was overwhelmed! There were birds, little animals, some were wildlife he recognized, and a few squirrels he thought he remembered chasing.

“Now you gotta jump off!”

“Honestly, Molly, you’re incorrigible! Yes, Reggie, accept this gift of eternity, and join us!”

With a look back at Andrew, “Will my folks know where to find me?”

“Yes, Reggie, and all of you will be reunited with them when their days have ended. Until then, you’re here with us.”

With a deep breath, Reggie closed his eyes and jumped. The animals all gathered around him, everyone talking at once. Introductions, reunions. And as he faded from view, two little cats, one all grey with a few white spots, and the other a grey tabby Scottish fold slipped away to the edge of the meadow. They were Mousie and Mouse, as close as two sisters could be.

“Mama? Reggie’s here, his face is all healed up, and he looks grand! Molly and Maggie met him with Andrew. We stayed behind ... it was a ‘dog’ thing. They giggled as they looked at each other.

Andrew smiled, thinking to himself how all of these sweet creatures were tied together by a common thread - Love.

“And we love YOU too, Andrew” the kitties softly purred....

And all was well.

©️Suzie Sergeant and Rose Scott. 3/13/2021